Thursday, August 27, 2015
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to acquire Japan’s R-Tech Ueno Ltd. in a deal valued at about 33 billion yen ($276 million), buying a company controlled by Sucampo’s founders that manufactures all of its drugs.
Bethesda, Maryland-based Sucampo agreed to purchase 44 percent of R-Tech from the founders and a related entity for 1,400 yen per share, and is making a tender offer of 1,900 yen in cash for the rest of the company, it said in a statement today.
The tender offer is 49 percent higher than R-Tech’s closing share price of 1,278 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday. Sucampo founders Sachiko Kuno and Ryuji Ueno own a majority of R-Tech, according a March regulatory filing from the U.S. company.
R-Tech manufactures the constipation drug Amitiza for Sucampo and partners including Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Mylan NV. It also has a pipeline of drug candidates in various stages of development in areas such as gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
“By securing a larger portion of the global economics of Amitiza and control over the manufacturing and supply chain for the product, we will not only increase our revenues but also create the opportunity for greater efficiencies,” Peter Greenleaf, chief executive officer of Sucampo, said in a statement.
Sucampo said that the purchase price reflects a 16 percent premium over R-Tech’s one-month volume weighted average price. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter and will immediately add to earnings, the company said.
Ueno, co-founder of Sucampo Group, founded R-Tech as a drug research company in 1989.
bloomberg.com
